Nothing Suits Me Like You
by sweetheartgrl13
Summary: Billy and Barney struggle to reclaim their lives and have some fun along the way. Barney/Robin
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there guys! I'm back! Temporarily at least. I decided that this has been sitting in my computer for long enough and I'm just going to put up what i have so far. Tell me if you like it and I'll write more! Thanks for sticking in there! Enjoy!**

* * *

"A thing."

Billy silently shut the web cam off and looked down. He knew he had to snap out of this funk. At least when he was robbing banks and pulling heists, he was preoccupied and his troubles couldn't reach him. It was easier to just stop being Billy and let Doctor Horrible take his place. It was the smart thing to do. Smart but seemingly impossible in the long run. How did one go about switching personalities? Besides, Doctor Horrible was more of a persona than anything remotely real.

Billy stood and walked over to the closet that held his new red lab coat. He grimaced at the sinister change. He preferred the white lab coat more but Bad Horse had commented that the white seemed too "Good". Naturally Billy had to change it to suit Bad Horse's image of evil. He had kept his old outfit but it was tucked away in a box in the bottom of his closet. Billy nudged the box with his toe and frowned. He was tempted to revert back to the old lab coat for that night's ELE meeting just to see Bad Horse's expression.

_Why the long face Bad Horse? You liked the red better? Sorry, I didn't realized you had a dress code…_

Billy smirked at the thought, the closest he had come to truly smiling since Penny's death. The memory crashed down on him and he winced, eye twitching. He mentally cursed himself for bringing the pain back. He had been able to block it for a while but he knew it would pop up again some time or another. Billy snatched the lab coat from the hook and threw it around himself. Pulling the gloves and goggles on, he transformed into an evil shell of himself. As long as Doctor Horrible was there, Billy couldn't feel the sharp stabs of guilt and regret, only dull throbs. Doctor Horrible became a shield, a numbing drug, a way out. Billy knew it wasn't right to run from his feelings but he just couldn't deal with it right then. He stepped out of his apartment and headed to the meeting.

_Doctor Horrible is here._

* * *

_You're dismissed, _Bad horse said in his deep timbre. Doctor horrible worked against the urge to shudder. Fake Thomas Jefferson had warned him on his first day that talking to Bad Horse face-to-face would take some getting used to. That was an understatement. Bad Horse's ability to speak telepathically came at the price of being highly uncomfortable to those in the conversation. Doctor Horrible doubted that he would ever get used to it. Whenever Bad Horse "spoke", it felt like he was actually in the Doctor's head, viewing every speck of knowledge and every little memory with cool disappointment and cruel judgment.

_Everyone but Doctor Horrible, _Bad Horse amended. This time, the doctor couldn't help but shudder. He slowly sat back down and watched everyone else leave. Fake Thomas Jefferson gave a discreet nod as he passed. Doctor horrible nodded back as Jefferson pulled the doors closed with a soft thud. The room fell into an eerie silence as Doctor Horrible waited for Bad Horse to speak and he squirmed when the leader finally did.

_You seem to be fitting in well here, Doctor, _Bad Horse said slowly, drawing out every word. Each syllable wormed its way deeper into Doctor Horrible's mind

"Y-yes, Sir. The other members have been quite accommodating," said the Doctor.

_And I see that Thomas has taken a liking to you. Keep that close to you. He isn't quite as charitable with other as he is with you. He caused the last death within our little group, _said the Thoroughbred of Sin. _Keep that in mind. _Doctor Horrible's face turned as white as a sheet in the blink on an eye. He felt sick all of a sudden.

_So, let's get to the point. You haven't been quite as honest with me as I had hoped… _Bad Horse said moving around the table. A bead of sweat appeared on Doctor Horrible's forehead. _Your equipment has a history of malfunctioning, doesn't it?_

"Well I wouldn't-" Horrible started.

_Doesn't it? _Bad Horse pressed.

"Small, fixable malfunctions," he admitted.

_One such malfunction caused the man you were trying to kill, a certain Captain Hammer, to become unfrozen and damage your so-called "Death Ray". He then attempted to kill you with it but failed to due to the damage he caused. This damage saved your life and ended another. _Bad Horse said now standing behind a horrified Doctor Horrible. The Doctor's eye twitched as he followed the path of the conversation. Bad Horse knew, then, that _her_ death wasn't directly his fault. He had known that Bad Horse would eventually find out but he hadn't anticipated it to be this soon. The big question now was what he would do about it. Doctor Horrible had thought about this before and came up with two theories. Either Bad horse would kill him on the spot for lying to him or he would commend him for taking advantage of the situation. Doctor Horrible admitted to himself that the latter was highly unlikely so he prepared himself for the hooves that would no doubt be coming in contact with him in mere seconds.

_While your luck completed the task, I want you to you to do it again. _Bad Horse said walking back to his place at the head of the table. Doctor Horrible's eyes snapped open.

"W-what?" he asked astonished that he was still breathing.

_You accomplished something, a position that your peers have fought tooth and nail for, through an accident that you took credit for. In order for you to atone for this lapse in your experience, I want you to finish what you started. _

"What do you mean by that?"

_You had intended to murder Captain Hammer. I want you to go through with your plan and I don't want to hear anything about malfunctioning equipment this time. I can't afford to have liabilities on my team do you understand? _

"Absolutely. I'll get right on that sir," Doctor Horrible said in a monotone voice.

_Good. Then you are dismissed. _Bad Horse said turning away. Doctor Horrible stood and stumbled out of the room. He managed to close the door before collapsing against it. His head was spinning with the details of the conversation. He slid down the door and sat on the ground, eyes closed.

_Well, at least it will be easy… _Doctor Horrible thought to himself.

_Easy? _Asked Billy from deep inside the Doctor.

_Bad Horse just told me to kill Captain Hammer, _Doctor Horrible replied.

_Kill Captain Hammer? He's useless now! There's no point! _Billy exclaimed sounding a little closer to the surface.

_What? You thought you would never have to kill anyone ever again? _Doctor Horrible said.

_Well, no, but this is Captain Hammer! _Billy said fighting his way to the surface, _We can't do that!_

_Who said anything about we? _Horrible said pushing Billy back down.

"Doctor? Are you well?" said a colonial sounding voice. Doctor Horrible opened his eyes and saw Fake Thomas Jefferson walking towards him.

"Oh yeah. I'm fine," he said letting Jefferson help him to his feet.

"I assume your talk with Bad Horse was a little much for you?" said the fake president with a hit of amusement.

"Let's just say you were right that it takes some getting used to," he said with a weak laugh. Jefferson laughed with the Doctor as they walked away from the meeting room.


	2. Chapter 2

Barney threw back the last of the scotch in his glass and immediately refilled it to the brim. He brought the glass over to his couch and turned on the TV. He squinted as the room was thrown into brightness and waited for his eyes to adjust enough that it wasn't too painful to look. Barney hit a button and a recorded bit from Metro News One started playing. Robin looked back at him, larger than life, still slightly stinging his eyes. She gave a dazzling smile but Barney could see the faint disappointment showing though. He remembered her days at the somehow-still-running news show. She had been miserable but at least it gave Barney an opportunity to comfort her. Now she had everything she wanted. Barney flipped through the settings and deleted all the saved episodes of _Metro News One_ and _Come on, Get up New York._ As each of the clips disappeared, he could feel a hole in his chest growing where his heart was supposed to be. When the list was finally gone he sat down on the couch and waited for himself to feel something.

"Babe? Come back to bed," murmured the brunette whose name he couldn't recall. Her hair was sticking out every which way and she was covering herself with one of the sheets from his bed. Barney felt a pang of annoyance. He would have to completely remake the bed now.

"Sorry. I can't," Barney said in a monotone voice, not really there.

"Oh that's right. Your big meeting with the president," she said plopping on the couch next to him. She started running her fingers through his still-perfect blonde hair. Barney rolled his eyes at her stupidity. _You sure know how to pick them…_

"Yeah. Sure. That's it," he said unconvincingly. He sort of wished the girl would catch on to his apathy and find out that he didn't really have a meeting with the president. He _almost _wanted to have her snatch his drink out of his hand and throw it straight in his face. The only thing stopping him from straight out telling her, in very simple English, that this was a one-night-stand and he was just using her was the fact that he was wearing a suit. No matter how badly he felt, he could never put his suit in harms way. Maybe that was his problem. He couldn't get hurt if the only thing he cared about were his suits. _That's a lie and you know it…_ Barney cursed internally at that small nagging voice in the back of his head.

"You know, maybe you could bring me with…" she whispered into his ear, biting as she spoke, "Wouldn't if be fun to have some… fun on the president's desk?" Barney sighed and stood up to get away from the girl.

"Look, I think you should go." Barney said after downing the rest of his scotch as the TV changed from Robin to Don. Barney's eyes narrowed with past hatred and shut the TV off.

"What? Why?" she asked, eyes growing wide, "Is something wrong?"

"No. I have a long day ahead of me and I want to get some sleep without you giving me a headache." _What up!_

"Oh…" she said clearly hurt. Barney walked into his room and came back holding her clothes. He threw them on the couch and walked back to his room.

"Have a nice day," he muttered under his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Barney woke up to his alarm buzzing annoyingly at him. He hit the off button a little more forcefully than he should have. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with his hand. He took a deep breath and walked to the bathroom, throwing the water on in his giant shower. He undressed and stepped into the shower, not minding the scalding water on his back. He thought back to last night at the bar and frowned.

* * *

"And that is why you never ask a girl if she has a sister," Barney said solemnly before cracking into a smile. Ted and Marshall both laughed while Lily frowned, disapprovingly.

"Barney I don't think I'll ever get you," Lily said.

"It's okay, Lily. I don't think anybody really gets Barney," Robin said walking over to the booth and sitting at the end of the table.

"Ah, Robin! Glad you could join us," Ted said jokingly.

"Hey! Its not my fault that the cab driver I snagged tonight was new to the city," she rolled her eyes. Barney laughed and felt a flutter go through his stomach. He loved this side of Robin. Barney let the conversation go on, carefully letting his eyes wander around the room when in reality, all his attention was on Robin.

She looks great tonight. That shirt is great on her. Wait…

Barney's eyebrows furrowed as he connected the dots. Robin looked even more beautiful than normal which meant….

"So when is this guy gunna show up?" Lily asked confirming Barney's worst fears. The fluttering in his stomach turned into a lead brick. He started fidgeting with his glass of scotch, failing in his attempt to act natural.

"Well he should be here in about ten minutes," Robin said nervously. That piqued Barney's interest. What did Robin have to be worried about? The only things that come to his mind did nothing to sooth his frayed nerves. The two reasons Barney could come up with were that this guy was REALLY hot (Robin is usually the one to make dates nervous) or there's something about this guy that the group wouldn't like. Barney, a man whose beliefs usually did not involve a God or religious figure, prayed to God that Robin's date was the latter. If he was some doe-eyed pretty-boy, Barney wouldn't stand a chance. But on the off chance that he had some weird dark past, Barney would be able to work his magic and twist the situation to his liking.

"What's wrong, Barney?" Robin asked, pulling Barney from his train of thought.

"Oh… uh… My scotch. I think Wendy mixed up my order," he said taking another sip from the glass. "Yepp. This definitely isn't neat… I ordered it neat!" Several people stared at their table as Barney yelled at Wendy.

"Jeez, man it's just a drink…" Marshall mock whispered to Barney.

"Just a drink. Just a drink? This-," he said holding the glass up, admiring it, "this is more than just a drink. This simple glass of tainted scotch represents, nay, embodies the essence of the average American bimbo. At first glance, it looks like any other glass of scotch but if we look closer we start to see its true nature. The scratched, well-worn glass stands for the bimbo's daddy issues. See, the cracks in the glass, and therefore the girl, may make enjoying it a little difficult, but they also make vulnerabilities easier to expose."

"Umm, Barney? How does a glass of scotch have vulnerabilities?" Ted asked. Barney stared at Ted for a moment.

"Ted. Please. As I was saying. The slightly off color, that I should have noticed earlier, represents not only the likely mental instabilities but also the bad spray-on tans that they usually have. And finally, the glass itself represents the tough exterior that bimbos have up to protect themselves from stalkers. Trust me, they have stalkers…" Lily was about to say something when Barney put his hand up. "Please save all questions and or comments until after the presentation. That glass also brings up another aspect: fragility," Barney said knocking back the last of the scotch. "Bimbos are as easy to break as an old scotch glass." Barney raised the glass above his head, prepared to fling it to the ground, and laughed as everyone's face changed from feigned interest to surprised horror. Barney laughed and gently set the glass back down on the table. "I would do it but I don't want to have to break a hundred dollar bill to replace the thing," he said honestly.

"Barney, can I talk to you?" Robin said pulling him from the booth. He couldn't help but to let his eyes linger on the hand that was pulling him away from the group and out into the ally behind the bar. His mind wandered back to the nights that hand was tugging gently on his tie.

_Dude, you're so drunk… _he thought as Robin spun to face him. Her perfume washed over him as her hair fanned out around her. Even in the dirty, dark ally, her beauty shone.

"Barney, I need to ask you something," she said quietly. Something in her voice made his stomach drop. The goofy smile that was plastered to his face dropped to the ground and shattered.

"Yeah?" he asked hesitantly. Robin looked down at her hands and sighed.

"I want you to go, Barney," she said.

"Go where?" he asked.

"Anywhere but here. This guy that I'm meeting, he's great and I want him to feel welcome. Ted, Marshall and Lily have that down. But you? You're different. I want to have him see how good our friends are before I introduce him to you. You understand, right?" she asked. Barney felt like he had been slapped harder than he ever had before. Worse than a Marshall slap.

"Wha- I don't- Jeez, Robin. That's cold…" he managed to stammer. Robin looked at him apologetically. She stepped forward and Barney stepped back. Hurt flashed in her eyes.

Ha! You think I'm hurting you? I'll show you hurt.

"I'm sorry, Barney. It's just-"

"No. Don't." He turned away from her and walked back into the bar. He made it halfway to the front door when Robin caught up to him. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He shrugged her hand off.

"You wanted me to go? I'm going! Just don't expect me back anytime soon," he said quietly.

"Barney! What's wrong?" Lily asked appearing beside Robin.

"You want to know what's wrong? Just ask her," he said nodding towards Robin. Lily looked at Robin with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Robin you didn't…" Lily said.

"I did," she said firmly.

"Barney, please stay!" Lily pleaded.

"I can't. She wants me gone so I'm gone. Scherbatsky gets what Scherbatsky wants," Barney said coolly. Ted and Marshall popped up next to Lily.

"What's going on here?" Marshall asked worriedly.

"Robin just kicked Barney out," Lily said solemnly.

"What?" Ted asked. Barney rolled his eyes.

"Look it doesn't matter," Barney said angrily.

"Yes it does!" Lily said.

"What's up?" asked a new voice from behind Barney. The group's attention turned to a man slightly taller than Barney with dark chocolate eyes and gently spiked brown hair. He looked to be in his late twenties. Barney's eyes widened as he realized whom this must be.

"Jake. I'm so sorry. Were having a bit of an argument…" Robin said.

"That's okay, babe. These must be the friends I've heard so much about," he said. Barney's worst fears were confirmed. Robin's new boy toy was the definition of pretty-boy.

"Oh yeah. This is Lily, Ted, Marshall and-"

"Nobody. I'm nobody," Barney interrupted. "See you later, guys." Barney walked straight out of the bar despite Ted, Marshall, and lily's protests. He stood on the side of the street and replayed what had just happened. The argument had sobered him up pretty quickly.

"Whatever… I'm awesome. She'll come crawling back to me," Barney said unconvincingly. He raised a hand and hailed a cab.

"Barney! Wait!" came Robin's voice from the stairs to the bar.

_Right on cue._

"Please don't go. I'm sorry I said that. I shouldn't have. I just really like this guy," Robin said.

"Forget it, Robin. I'm not going to hang around someone who doesn't have the decency to just ask me to behave myself. I would have, Robin. I would have for you." Robin's mouth hung open in shock. There was so much more that Barney wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that he thought she was making a mistake by going out with this guy she didn't want knowing about him. He wanted to just pull her into the cab with him and go to the nicest restaurant in New York. He wanted to go see a movie with her and end up not being able to tell anyone who the characters were or what the plot was. He just wanted her. He would do anything for her. He would give up suits for her. He had once said that "Nothing suits me like a suit" but he realized that he had to change that.

_Nothing suits me more than suits like Robin Scherbatsky._

"Barney, I-"

"Save it for someone who cares," he said getting into the cab and slamming the door. He did care though. He cared a lot. And that's why he had to leave her standing on the street like that. He knew that Robin would never love him like he loved her. He had to distance himself from her and he would do it the only why he knew how.

* * *

Barney stepped out of the shower and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He wrapped a towel around himself and stepped out into his living room, not minding the wet footprints he left on the way. He grabbed the sheet that the girl had left on the couch from that night and tossed it onto his bed. Barney stood there for a moment, and let his thoughts swirl about in this head. There were memories from the one night stand. Good memories. There were also memories of Robin. Memories of kissing her and holding her hand and comforting her. There were memories of her face as she told him to leave. There were memories of her smiling at the sight of any of her other boyfriends. That look was always the same but somehow when she smiled at him, it was different. It seemed more exposed and vulnerable. Barney knew it was probably just his own longing that made it seem that way but he couldn't help hoping.

_Stop it. Do you not remember what happened? You can't think about her anymore. She's done. Over. Move on to bigger and better things, okay? _

Barney knew that his inner voice was right but ignoring Robin would be easier said than done.


	4. Chapter 4

_Tonight is the night._

The Doctor stood over the sleeping form thoughtfully. He was so close. Just one shot and it could be all over. His most troublesome nemesis gone forever. It wasn't even difficult to get to the sleeping hero's room. Doctor Horrible smiled grimly at the thought of the word hero. Captain Hammer didn't deserve to be called a hero anymore. He hadn't saved anyone since the girl's death. He was a shell of his former self. Hammer's face was covered in an unkempt beard. His hair was greasy giving the villain the assumption that the man hadn't showered in a while.

_It will all end soon._

Doctor Horrible took a step closer to the Captain's bed and raised his weapon. No fancy experimental weapons this time. Just a simple Death Ray, more refined than his last attempt. The Doctor couldn't afford any mistakes this time. He placed his finger on the trigger and squeezed.

_You don't have to do this._

Doctor Horrible paused. Just a hair more and the hero would be no more.

_It doesn't have to be like this._

"Yes it does," whispered the Doctor.

_He doesn't deserve to die._

"It's not your decision anymore."

_Look at him. He's not a threat. Not to you or anyone else._

He was silent for a moment as he examined the sleeping man. There was no elegance or dignity to been seen in the man curled up under the blankets. His hands were clinging to the sheets so hard that his knuckles were visibly white even in the dim lighting. Doctor Horrible let his finger off the trigger as he felt a sense of pity rising.

_This isn't right. You can't kill him like this. _

"I'll kill him however I want to." he muttered. The Doctor wanted to believe his own words but he couldn't push away the doubt that was nagging at the back of his mind. He lowered the weapon slightly. Maybe he could just leave. Nobody would know that he had even been there. He froze. He was a fool. Bad Horse would know. He always knew. There was no going back for him. He had to kill Hammer or else face Bad Horse with his failure. There was no reason for him to fail this task except for his own weakness. Doctor Horrible braced himself and raised his weapon once more.

"There's no other choice."

_No!_

Just as Doctor Horrible pulled the trigger, Billy pushed his way back into control and forced the Death Ray up, barely missing the now awake Captain. Billy dropped the Ray as the Doctor tried to claw his way back into control.

"Doctor Horrible! Oh, God! What do you want from me now? Please don't kill me!" sobbed Hammer as he crashed off the bed and crawled back to the corner of the room.

"Captain, calm down!" Billy yelled as he clutched his head, "I'm not… not going to hurt you…"

"You aren't?" asked the Captain as he wiped his dripping nose. Billy shook his head as he forced the furious villain down.

"I just came to tell y-you… that I'm leaving. You won't ever see me again." Billy said as his head stopped pounding.

"B-but you shot at me! What did you do that for!" shrieked the former hero. Billy sat down and waved off the question.

"It's a long story. Just be glad I changed my mind." The Captain seemed to pout at Billy's words but didn't press it any further.

"You ruined my life you know…" Hammer mumbled as he struggled to stand. Billy looked up in surprise. "I had it all, you know. Glory, money, women. Oh the women… But then you had to mess it all up didn't you?" Billy saw the pain and hate in his eyes as he spoke.

"I wish it hadn't ended that way. I didn't want to kill anyone. Especially her…" Billy stopped and dropped his head.

"Who? That Penny girl?" Hammer asked as he eyed Billy warily. Suddenly Billy stood and stormed across the room, fire in his eyes.

"Yes, Penny! How dare you not know! She meant everything to me! And I got her killed!" Billy screamed as his voice cracked. Billy shook as he stared down a cowering Hammer. Billy blinked and took a deep breath. He stumbled back to the chair on the other side of the room. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. Look, I should go…"

"Wait!" Hammer stood and walked to Billy. The Captain rested a hand on Billy's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't keep blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault." Billy didn't know whether to take his advice or be offended that a man like Hammer was telling him this. Billy decided it would be best to not upset the fragile man any more than he already had.

"Thanks, Captain," Billy said as he picked up the death ray off the ground and headed for the window.

"Please, no one calls me that anymore. Just call me Dave."

"Thanks… Dave."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah I can't stay here. I'm getting nowhere in the league and _she_ keeps popping up wherever I look. There's too much here that reminds me of her…" Billy said sadly as he threw the rest of his clothes into his suitcase. The smell of his fabric softener floated up from the clothes and he closed his eyes, wincing. _The smell of fabric softener. The feel of warm clothes in your hands. _Billy wished he had actually liked doing laundry so that the one thing they had in common wasn't a lie.

It had been a couple months since Penny died and Billy just couldn't move on. The thing that made it worse was that it seemed that no one else even remembered her name. The few times she was mentioned, it was always as "that girl that Doctor Horrible killed". Billy couldn't take it anymore. He had to leave.

"Well where are you going to go?" asked Moist, faithful as ever. Billy walked over to the metal table in his lab and grabbed a piece of laminated paper. He paused and looked at it for a second before walking back to Moist. Billy handed the paper to him and went back to packing.

"I got that about a month ago. I don't remember her all that much but Loretta Stinson is my mom. She apparently tracked me down and sent me a letter to see how I was doing," Billy explained while forcing the lid of his suitcase shut.

"But I thought your mom lived here," Moist said trying to piece things together. Billy shook his head.

"No that was my step-mom," Billy said with clear distaste, "My dad married her a little before I met you. Anyways, I sent Loretta a letter back and I'm going to drop by for a visit."

"A visit? So you'll be back then?" Moist asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Moist. I can't come back here," Billy said taking the letter back from him, "According to this letter, I have a brother."

"A brother?" Moist asked in disbelief.

"Specifically, a twin. His name is Barney Stinson. He lives New York City so that's where I'm headed."

"Wow, Doc. That's huge…" Moist said. Billy froze and sighed. He turned and laid a hand on Moist's shoulder, ignoring the damp feeling.

"I'm not Doctor Horrible anymore, Moist," Billy said quietly.

"But-"

"I'm just Billy again. Just like back in school, okay? Just plain, old Billy Stinson."

"I'm going to miss you, Do-, I mean, Billy," Moist said looking like an abandoned puppy that was left in the rain.

"I know. I'll miss you too, Moist," Billy said pulling his childhood friend in for a hug. Moist returned the gesture and Billy couldn't help but wonder if this was the last time her would see his friend.

"Well I should get going. My flight leaves soon," Billy said walking over to his bags.

"Umm you might want to change first," Moist said pointing down at Billy's clothes apologetically. Billy looked down and saw that he was soaked head to toe.

"Yeah… You're probably right," Billy said dragging his suitcase to his room. He closed the door and slowly un-zipped the suitcase. Billy paused and couldn't help but take one last look around his room. His eyes stopped in the corner on a simple picture frame holding the only picture of Penny he owned. The last physical thing he had to remember her by. He had intended on leaving it there as to not dwell on the past. The former Doctor Horrible walked slowly over to the picture frame, floorboards creaking as he went. He picked up the frame and felt a pang of hurt crash through him.

"I'm so sorry, Penny," he whispered, "But don't worry. Doctor Horrible won't hurt anyone anymore." He gripped the picture and, in a moment of weakness, walked back to his luggage and shoved the picture inside, right on top of his Horrible lab coat.


End file.
